Updated ,first published
Supermarket giant Coles has tapped the high-profile communications adviser Clive Mathieson to lead the companyโs corporate affairs operation, as the retailer stares down the consumer regulator over concerns about its pricing practices.
The company announced Mathiesonโs appointment internally on Wednesday after questions from this masthead.
Mathieson โ a veteran of corporate Australiaโs advisory world, managing PR crises such as the departure of the countryโs Test cricket captain in 2021 โ is set to join the retailer as its group corporate affairs officer from March 10.
He will arrive at the company in the thick of heightened regulatory and public scrutiny of the sector, and was given the nod because of his experience. In media, that has included a stint as editor of The Australian, before time in state and federal politics, where he was chief-of-staff to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Most recently, he was a partner of the high-profile corporate and crisis communications firm Cato & Clive, which told clients this month that the duo would soon go their separate ways, due in part to Mathiesonโs new job.
Coles did not respond to a request for comment.
The company has been on an upward trend against Woolworths in recent quarters, reversing the green brandโs longstanding dominance.
Mathieson joins Coles following the departure of Sally Fielke, who departed the company to run News Corp Australiaโs corporate affairs operation. He will join a retailer that, along with Woolworths, remains in the crosshairs of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb signalled earlier this year that the watchdog could use new powers against the two companies if they did not change their pricing tactics, following allegations of price gouging.
The warning emerged amid a protracted face-off between the ACCC and the two supermarket giants, which kicked off in late 2024, when the regulator launched separate proceedings against Coles and Woolworths in the Federal Court.
The ACCC allegations relate to products sold at regular long-term prices before being subject to brief price rises of โat least 15 per centโ and later marked down in promotions. The watchdog said prices were dropped lower than the price rise, but higher than or equal to the regular price recorded before the increase.
โFollowing many years of marketing campaigns by Woolworths and Coles, Australian consumers have come to understand that the โPrices Droppedโ and โDown Downโ promotions relate to a sustained reduction in the regular prices of supermarket products,โ the ACCC said in a statement at the time.
โHowever, in the case of these products, we allege the new โPrices Droppedโ and โDown Downโ promotional prices were actually higher than, or the same as, the previous regular price.โ
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John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
